Hanger for furring strips



Dec. 5, 1967 J. A. YOUNG 3,356,399

HANGER FOR FURRING STRIPS Filed Oct. 3, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iii 4 1442 1 2, \WliiM/I/JM 9 INVENTOR JAMES A. YOUNG BY gfltm n %L- ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1967 J. A. YOUNG HANGER FOR FURRING STRIPS Filed Oct. 8, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"/ I ,IIIIIJ'IIII INVENTOR JAMES A. YOUNG 9 BY 9:A,-. o

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,356,399 HANGER FOR FURRING STRIPS James A. Young, 2032 Buchanan St, Hollywood, la. 33020 Filed Oct. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 402,525 1 Claim. (Cl. 287-18935) This invention relates to a hanger device for supporting a furring strip upon metallic joists of the type wherein the joists may be a conventional bar joist and having cylindrical bars that constitute the bottom chord of the joist and the bars may be either a single bar or a pair of spaced apart bars.

The invention contemplates a novel hanger device that is adapted to clamp a wood furring strip against the bottom of the bars in a manner whereby the furring strip is held without the use of nails or like fastening devices so that the furring strip may be supported at each of the joist rods along the length of a building and with the furring strip constituting a means for fastening ceiling forming panels or the like.

The invention contemplates a clip of generally U-shape that is adapted to engage the bottom of the furring strip and to .be forced up and over one of the bars and with the clip having an arcuate saddle portion that conforms generally to the curvature of the bars and extended leg portions to be subsequently wrapped around the bar to effectively hold the clip in position against displacement.

The invention further contemplates a clip of generally U-shape that is formed of relatively hard cylindrical wire and with the clip having leg portions that are angled outwardly prior to installation and that may be shifted inwardly to engage the clip over the bar and with the legs being biased outwardly so that the legs will grip upon the bar and conform to the diameter of the bar.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device Will be more clearly apparent during the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein has been illustrated a preferred form of the device and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating a pair of clip devices, showing the initial engagement of the clip and the subsequent bending of the clip to embrace supporting bars,

FIGURE 2 is a section taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a section taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a section taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a section taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view showing the clip in the initial engaging position with respect to a furring strip and a supporting bar,

FIGURE 7 is a section taken substantially on line 7-7 of FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 8 is a section taken substantially on line 8-8 of FIGURE 6, and

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the clip.

Referring specifically to the drawings, there has been illustrated wood furring strips 5 here being illustrated as being substantially 2% inches wide by approximately of an inch thick and of indeterminate length. The furring strips 5 are adapted to be clamped against the underside of cylindrical bars 6, constituting the lower chord for any conventional bar joist. The furring strips 5 constitute the nailing surface for ceiling forming panels, not shown and whereby the tuning strips may be supported in a quick and easy manner at predetermined spaced intervals along the bar 6 corresponding to a particular panel that is to be nailed thereto.

As clearly shown, the clips indicated as a whole at 7 in FIGURE 9 are stamped or bent from relatively hard Wire and the clips embody a base 8 and upwardly and outwardly inclined legs 9. The clips are formed of a single section of wire, as will be obvious and each leg 9 adjacent its upper end has been shaped to provide an arcuate saddle 10 that is curved in accordance with the curvature of the bars 6. From the saddle 10, the legs are further extended, as at 11 to constitute wrap-around portions to be subsequently wrapped around the .bars 6 at assembly. The legs '9, carrying the saddles 10 and the extensions 11 are yieldable and permit the clip to be forced upwardly through a pair of bars 6 to engage over one bar 6, after it has been engaged with the furring strip 5. The base 8 has a length generally corresponding to the width of the strips 5.

In the use of the device, the clips are engaged with the strip 5 at each point of underlying engagement of the strips with the bars 6 and, as shown in FIGURE 6, the clips are threaded through the space between the bars 6 so that the saddle 10 engage the upper curvature of the bar 6 and with the extensions 11 projecting forwardly, as shown particularly in FIGURES 1 and 5. It may be necessary to spring the legs 9 slightly together to permit the engagement of the saddles 10 and the extensions 11 Over the bar 6 and FIGURE 5 illustrates the normal first engagement of the clips upon the bars. The .bars 6 may vary in diameter and upon release of the legs 9, the legs spring outwardly to cause its saddles 10 to firmly grip upon the upper sides of the bars in accordance with the diameter of the bars. The initial engagement of the clips has been illustrated in FIGURE 8. With the clips in engagement, the extensions 11 project forwardly and, when a predetermined number of clips have been engaged with a furring strip 5, a suitable tool is engaged with the extensions 11 and the extensions 11 are then twisted around the bars 6, shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. All of the clips are first installed as indicated in FIGURE 5, firmly supporting the furring strips 5 throughout their length and then the operator engages the tool with the extensions 11 and bends the extension 11 around the bars 6 for that particular group of clips. The extensions 11 may of course be variable in length as may be found desirable and in accordance with the diameter of wire employed in forming the hangers and to impart the required strength for the hangers.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a very simple and novel means has been employed to quickly and easily support the furring strips against the bars 6 and requires only that the operator dispose the furring strips against the bar and then shove the clips upwardly so that the clips have their saddles in engagement with the bar to firmly hold the furrin-g strip throughout its length and, when a suitable number of clips have been employed with the extension 11 and the extensions twisted around the bars, as indicated in FIGURE 3. The saddles 10 maintain the clips in fully engaged position with the bar 6 and clamping the furring strip 5 against the bottom of the bars and provides a hanger that will hold the strips 5 tightly against the bars and then the extensions 11 are bent around the bars to fully engage the bars and to prevent disengagement of the clips from the bars and presents a fir-m support for the furring strips that will support the furring strips as a nailing base for the ceiling panels. The device is extremely simple, is strong, cheap to manufacture and most effective as a hanger for furring strip-s where the strips are adapted to be engaged with the usual chord forming bars of the rafter. The device requires no additional attaching means other than to force the U-shape clip 7 upwardly to engage the saddle 10 upon the top of the bar 6. With the extensions 11 bent around the bar 6, the hangers and the furring strips are positively held to the bars and any type of ceiling may be employed, regardless of weight and will be successfully held against movement.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, but that changes are contemplated as readily fall within the spirit of the invention as shall be determined by the scope of the subjoined claim.

I claim:

A clip, a bar of a metallic rafter, the bar being cylindrical in cross section, and a Wood furring strip supported against the underside of the bar by said clip, the clip being composed of a single piece of springy wire rod, said clip having a straight, elongated base part underlying and extending crosswise of the furring strip, the opposite ends of said base part each being provided with a laterally projecting leg, the legs extending divergently from their points of connection to the base part, each leg being provided at its free end with a laterally projecting extension, each of said extensions having an arcuately curved saddle conforming to the curvature of the bar and acting as a positioning means when the clips is fitted on the bar, said extensions each having a normally straight part extending from the saddles, said straight part being bent to co-operate with the saddle in forming a loop completely encircling the bar, the springiness of the legs on the clip being such as to enable said legs to be sprung toward one another in fitting the clip on the bar, and the biasing of the legs away from one another causing the looped portions of the same to exert downward pressure on the encircled bar so that the bar will be held in close contact with the furring strip regardless of variation in diameter of the encircled that, by the tendency of the diverging legs to spring apart.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 822,758 6/1906 Overholt 28750 1,816,450 7/1931 Venzie 52486 1,879,778 9/1932 Venzie 52--357 2,811,036 10/1957 Nelsson 527l5 2,929,121 3/1960 Tinnerman 2875l FOREIGN PATENTS 544,498 8/ 1957 Canada.

10,385 7/1915 Great Britain. 799,357 8/1958 Great Britain.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

J. L. RIDGILL, Assistant Examiner. 

